FW: Senior Col. Kim Joon Rok Remembers Capturing USS Pueblo

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From: "Young Kim" <ysk@kimsoft.com>
Reply-To: KOREAN-WAR-L@raven.cc.ku.edu
Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2001 16:38:49 -0800
To: <KOREAN-WAR-L@raven.cc.ku.edu>
Subject: Senior Col. Kim Joon Rok Remembers Capturing USS Pueblo

Senior Col. Kim Joon Rok Remembers Capturing USS Pueblo
Self Determination is a matter of life or death for North Korea

Source:
http://www.minjok.com/article/viewspecial.php3?catagory=minjok&code=438
Minjok tongshin 8/23/2001


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While attending the National Liberation Day celebration in Pyongyang, I
discovered many surprising things, one of which is the fact that North Korea
is the only nation today that has forced the United States to admit to and
apologize for its illegal acts.
US President Lyndon B. Johnson confessed that the Pueblo was the only letter
of apology of its kind he knew of.

The US, the sole super power, has dominated the world for many decades but
it had no other option but to kneel down and beg for mercy in front of the
united front of the people of North Korea, who value national sovereignty
more than life. This infamous case is called the Pueblo Incident and the
main historical archive of the incidence is the ship USS Pueblo herself, a
prized trophy of North Korea.

Photo: The USS Pueblo on display near Pyongyang.

The US spy ship was captured on January 23, 1968 near Wonsan and was moved
to the present location about two years ago. I learned about Pueblo during
my visit to Pyongyang in 1999 in connection with the tenth all-Korea
conference held there. I wondered how they had managed to move the ship from
Wonsan to Pyongyang.  I found the answer on my next trip. I met Senior Col.
Kim Joong Rok, who commanded the first boarding party some 33 years ago and
was responsible for securing the spy ship.  Senior Col. Kim told me that
Pueblo was moved from Wonsan to Daedong-gan through international waters off
Cheju-do and Japan, It took the Americans three days to learn of the move.

The mooring site of the American spy ship was not chosen randomly. At the
very spot, another American invader ship, the General Sherman, was burned
down on September 2, 1886.  The Sherman was intent on invading Pyongyang
when it was attacked and burned by the irate Pyongyang citizens, including
great-grandfather of General Kim Jong Il.  The site was chosen for Pueblo as
a symbol of the Korean Nationalism.

Photo: A monument commemorating the burning of US armed merchant General
Sherman in 1886.

When Pueblo was captured, the US claimed that the ship was a civilian
oceanic research boat (Ger-2) conducting research in international waters.
The US threatened war and dispatched a large armada to Korea. North Korea
countered with "we will fight blow by blow, total war for total war" and
went on a war footing.  The American crew of the spy ship was captured alive
except one and all had confessed to doing espionage in North Korean
territorial waters.

Captain Bucher of USS Pueblo surrendered his ship and stated that he and his
officers, based in Sasobo, Japan, had completed 135 spy missions along the
Siberian coasts and were in the process of collecting intelligence data on
North Korea when caught in the act by the North Koreans.  The ship had 83
Americans aboard, 77 sailors and six officers. Sen. Col. Kim said that his
men had to shoot dead a sailor who resisted the boarding party.

Kim said that "seven of my men jumped aboard the ship in the first wave of
attack, which was followed by by the second wave of 34 attackers. Thus,  41
men captured 83 Americans, a major victory over the American invaders."


Photo (right): Senior Col. Kim Joon Rok commanded the boarding party that
captured the US spy ship Pueblo near Wonsan.


After North Korea captured Pueble and towed her to Wonsan, the US sent a
naval task force led by the aircraft carrier Enterprise and threatened
military actions against North Korea. The US attempted to browbeat the UN
Security Council into declaring another UN war.   North Korea demanded an
official apology, else the Pueblo crew would be tried for espionage.  North
Korea told the US that no matter what the ship would never be returned.
After eleven months of threats and counter-threats, the US finally gave up
and knelt down for mercy.  The US formally apologized on December 23, 1968.

Kim said - "The US imperialists confessed that they had conducted 17
aggressive acts against us and signed a letter of apology. President Johnson
lied about this letter. The American who signed it at Panmunjom was so
nervous that he forgot to write down the date of his signature.  He was
asked to date his signature, which he did and hurried off without saying a
word."

Photo: Overseas Koreans listening to Kim in the communications room of
Pueblo.

Kim's eyewitness account was more fascinating than any suspense action
fiction I have read.  He was personally involved in the capture operation.
Kim said "many people get so excited about my account that they want to stay
around and hear it all day long, over and over again."

I realized that self determination is indeed a life or death matter for Kim
and wondered how many others in North Korea were like-minded. This spirit of
nationalism is found in all aspects of North Korea - politics, military,
society, culture, education, diplomacy and arts. The 1886 burning of General
Sherman, 1968 capture of USS Pueblo and many other conflicts with the US
super power have united the people of North Korea into a union of all for
one and one for all - a force of 25 million ready to repulse the United
States imperialism.

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